Alonso's half-time team-talk seemed to do the trick, though, with Rogers scoring within five minutes of the restart. Things got even better just after the hour mark when Lisandro Martinez midlessly conceded a penalty and earned a second yellow card after an arm to the face of Wesley Fofana. Cole Palmer doubled Chelsea's lead from the spot and United had no route back. With the game stretched, Estevao saw another effort chalked off but the result was a foregone conclusion.

Here, Express Sport rates how the Chelsea players fared against United…

Goalkeeper

Mike Penders - 6

Saved competently from Amad half an hour in but got lucky after palming the ball into a dangerous area. Had a lot less to do after the home side took control but got crucial fingertips to send a late Mbeumo effort onto the woodwork when he could easily have lost concentration.

Josh Acheampong - 5

Given licence to get forward from centre-back and showed some hunger. Defensively not the worst but not the best either.

Levi Colwill - 5

Leadership qualities didn't come through too much as the Chelsea back-line looked disjointed and communication seemed to be lacking. That mattered little, though, with United letting heads drop after going behind.

Wesley Fofana - 4

Got away with one after dallying in possession and being pickpocketed by Amad. Important block denied the Ivorian winger later in the first half but he then got caught out again by the same player before being given a let-off. Doesn't make anything back for winning the penalty as that was more a case of a rush of blood to the head from Martinez.

Midfield

Fairly subdued early on as Estevao got into exciting positions in front of him. Did well to rob Maguire on the stroke of half-time but couldn't make the most of his opportunity, though he got more involved in a positive way after the break.

Moises Caicedo - 7

Added a calm presence in the face of pressure from the visitors and an impressive committed tackle set up a promising early break. Almost got a fortunate opener when he deflected Colwill's header onto the United post.

Romeo Lavia - 6

Fulfilled an important role in helping start Blues counters. Less of an attacking threat than Jordan Henderson provided in the same role recently buut was fantastic for the turnover leading to Rogers' opener.

Marco Palestra - 4

Looked a little nervy to begin with when left one-on-one with Amad. Struggled in an attacking sense and never looked confident defensively.

Attack

Struggled to assert himself on the game and looked ponderous on one of the rare early occasions he found space. Even made hard work of his penalty but did at least score from the spot.

Estevao - 6

Eager early on as he regularly looked for the ball and floated between the lines. Could have been smarter for his disallowed goal and decision-making was arguably lacking for a chance moments before half-time.

Got his name on the scoresheet 20 minutes, or so he thought, but VAR denied him on a tight offside call. Passed his audition after being handed a rare start but will be frustrated not to be among the goals.

Morgan Rogers - 6

False nine role didn't showcase the England international at his best as he was forced to drop deeper in search of the ball. When he got a bit of space, though, he showed the old Morgan Rogers with a driving run and beautiful finish to break the deadlock.

Substitutes

Pep Chavarria (74') - 5

Solid enough after taking Palestrs'a place for the closing stages. Costly slip denied him a chance to threaten after a sharp late run.

Valentin Barco (87') - N/A

Missed a late chance to add gloss to the scoreline.

Danny Welbeck (87') - N/A

Uneventful cameo after entering late on.

Excellent teasing ball to set up Barco's late chance was his one notable contribution.